Here are some of my favorite authors, along with authors that have been recommended by my students over the years. Kate Dicamillo is my favorite children's author, but there are SO many amazingly talented authors that have written wonderful books. Check out the links below, they go directly to the author's webpages!
http://www.janbrett.com/
http://katedicamillo.com/
http://andrewclements.com/
http://judyblume.com/
http://www.shelsilverstein.com/indexSite.html
http://www.haddixbooks.com/home.html